Autocar has revealed Nissan’s luxury brand’s five-year plan: “a Mercedes S-class-sized limousine, a new all-wheel-drive seven-seat SUV and an all-electric entry-level model.” Guess which one is slated for 2012? Meanwhile, the new M has a no-V8s-please date with 2010. “This car will be engineered to accept Infiniti’s 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine, and its forthcoming 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel—although both the EX and FX SUVs will get the V6 oil-burner before that.” [NB: Infiniti’s in Europe now, hence the oil burners. For them.] So far, so believable, Moving along the timeline, and across the credibility axis, next up: a 2011 “flagship.” No, not the S-Class thingie. A new QX SUV! Rescuing that turkey’s rep in the middle of the SUV downturn strikes me as a billion dollar windmill tilt, but, hey, show us what you’ve got. In 2012, an Infiniti Quattroporte killer. Huh? Just the sub-head. “The firm’s biggest four-door will be badged ‘Q’ and will take over from the Q45 saloon that Infiniti discontinued in 2006.” And for good reason on all counts. And finally, electric dreams. “Infiniti’s most distant plans currently include a battery-powered compact model, although building it is still very much an ambition for the company rather than a concrete part of the product schedule.” As good a definition of vaporware as I’ve ever read, excluding Tesla press releases.
None of this sounds very convincing. The M may be a very good car, but aren’t its sales much lower than that of competitors?
Admittedly, in 5 years, the current crisis will be over and we’ll be back in conspicuous consumption mode, but Infiniti is facing an uphill battle for those models.
Good luck with the Euro market. Dealers are lining up none deep.
Even Lexus made only small indents into the Euro market. Eureopeans in general are more conservative than Americans when it comes to branding, in particular in the luxury market. Thus, they stick with the German holy trinity. Add to that the relative lack of diesel engines in the Japanese line-ups, and you got a problem That said, Renault has some fantastic diesel engines, but as they’re all installed in a transversal position, I’m not sure if they could be used in Infinitis.
The infiniti has attracted the most attention in Europe was the FX, mostly because it looks different from anything else, and because even Europeans got attracted to the idea of conspicuous consumption. But few people would actually buy one of those behemoths.
The only Infiniti that makes any sense is the G. It’s a good price, fantastic performance, good value, good reliability, etc. All other Infs are too expensive (M) or head-scratchingly weird (FX and the useless EX). The QX had a certain amount of road-crushing cool, but it wasn’t up to snuff in terms of quality and materials for the uber-luxo-tank market.
As for the Q, well, it never sold. Odds are it won’t sell now either. Just ask Acura about how the RL is doin’.
That said, I have a 91 Q45 and I love it for what it is. Something that was better than the (contemporary) Germans and much more performance minded than the LS400 – and now costs pennies to buy. Seems the most enthusiastic Q owners are people like me, the ordinary folks who bought them at fire-sale prices, not the wealthy elites they were aimed at in the first place.
PS – where are the JDM spec 2.5 V6s you can get in the Skyline sedan anyway? I would think it would be a good entry-level engine for the G and even the M, and it probably gets better fuel economy than the VQ (maybe). That would make more sense than going EV without any solid plan…
I think the term vaporware for the EV is a bit unfair in this situation. Atleast they’re being honest with us and admitting that it’s not a for sure thing. I don’t get what’s so wrong with saying “look, we’re going to try and do this but we can’t guarantee its going to happen”.
To me vaporware is when you show off a line of concepts that are completely impractical while having no intention or capability of following through on any of them. Remember all those alternative energy vehicles chrysler had at the 08 auto show? That’s vaporware.
I’m looking forward to the next Q-xx. It appeals to people like me who would never ever buy German or British because I expect my electrical system to still work after 3 years.
I had test driven the 2002, and I liked it’s understated looks. It wasn’t as quiet nor as softly sprung as the (soon to be mine) LS430, but I thought it’s interior, power, and engine were comparable. And those gatling-gun headlights were amazing. Too bad the center console was an iDrive-like ergonomic disaster, the exact opposite of the intuitive controls of the Lexus. That clenched the deal.
The LS has become a formidable competitor, and with the Equus coming soon, the Q better be good.
Tough one. Infiniti is sadly like Cadillac in that they both have one strong-selling sedan and an SUV or two on the side. (At least Infiniti already has the G coupe and convertible.) Nissan at least has cash for a diesel and a Euro distribution channel, GM has nixed the CTS 2.9 V6 diesel and an imploding importer. Staying ahead of Cadillac isn’t sufficient, but what to do next?
– Expand downwards? Tough competition and brand dilution.
– Expand upwards without repeating mistakes of the prior Q? A sporting/plush LWB sedan such as the 7-series/S-class/LS vs. 4-door GT-R? Perhaps both? Different markets favor different flagships.
– CUV’s/SUV’s – the EX/FX are new, the next QX is Patrol-based, I think
That doesn’t leave much. Nissan does have EV projects in the pipeline, so perhaps the compact B-EV would be the saving Hail Mary pass. Or not.
The QX45 is truly an awesome SUV. I’d love to own one if I had an extra six-figures a year for the gas that thing eats. But man it’s a really nice ride.
The G, like the CTS, is sorta in the middle of the 3 and 5 series in size. I’d love something between the 1 and 3 (then again, I would buy a 5 door 1 series hatch instantly if they offered it).
The M is probably my first choice in that class, but it would be better if it didn’t seem so close to the G in size optically. A Q could sell if they can really make it significantly better than the rest of the class, but the aggressive styling of their lower models will hurt them there – as they just aren’t quite “classy” enough.
Interesting photo…it reminds me of the old square Volvo wagon I saw a couple of weeks ago in northern California…it was slammed and had 22-inch wheels.
The M actually sells decently well, especially considering Infiniti’s general lack of badge cachet. It mops the floor with the RL in sales, and usually beats up the A6, though the 3.0T may allow Audi to claw back a bit. The M generally sells about the same as the GS. Both get beaten by the 5 and E, which continue to dominate the mid-lux segment.